Field notes › Compliance
Verification of competency (VOC): what it is and how to track it
A verification of competency (VOC) is an assessment that confirms a worker can safely do a specific task, usually operating a particular item of plant, at the time they are assessed. An assessor watches them do the work and records whether they met the standard. A VOC sits on top of any licence or qualification the job needs, and in most cases the requirement comes from the client or site rather than from a law that uses the term.
That last point matters for a labour hire office. The answer to "what VOC does this worker need" usually sits in the client's safety paperwork, and it changes from one site to the next. This guide covers who conducts a VOC, what the record should show, how it differs from a licence, and how to keep track of VOCs across a crew, based on regulator material checked as at September 2026.
What a VOC means in construction and mining
The NSW Resources Regulator describes a VOC as "a method of assessment that can be used to demonstrate workers ability to operate equipment and/or undertake the responsibilities of their role", and points out that employers often want one before a person is allowed on site or starts the job (Resources Regulator guidance on operating mobile plant VOCs). When a mine asks for a VOC on a haul truck, it wants a recent, documented assessment of this person driving a haul truck, preferably the model it runs, done the way that site does things.
A "VOC document" is the record of that assessment. We did not find a national VOC form on any of the regulator pages we checked. Sites, employers and training providers each use their own template, which is why so many people search for a VOC template and why two VOCs for the same machine can look nothing alike. If a client hands you its own form, use it. That is the one its auditors will expect to see.
Is a VOC a legal requirement?
Not under that name, as far as the regulator sources we opened show. The duty underneath it is a legal one, though. The NSW Resources Regulator ties VOCs to clause 39 of the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017, which deals with information, training and instruction, and for mines and petroleum sites to sections 107 and 111 of the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Regulation 2022, which cover the duty to provide training and the record of training. Those are NSW instruments. Every state and territory has its own work health and safety laws, so ask your own regulator what applies rather than borrowing the NSW wording.
So the law expects a business to make sure workers are trained and competent, and each site's safety management system decides how that gets proven. The same regulator's questions for quarry operators show where the detail lives. Does the site's system provide for training and assessment of mobile plant operators? Does it include a theory component? Do trainees log hours under supervision? Who does the assessing, and what experience or qualifications do they have? A VOC is one common answer to all of that, but the site writes the rules for it.
VOC, licence or RTO qualification: what's the difference?
These get mixed up constantly, and there is no such thing as a "VOC licence".
| Document | Issued by | What it tells a site |
|---|---|---|
| High risk work licence | State or territory WHS regulator | The holder may do a licensed class of high risk work |
| Statement of attainment | Registered training organisation | The person passed the assessment for that training |
| VOC | The site, employer or an assessor they accept | The person can do this task on this plant now |
| Certificate of competency (Qld mines) | RSHQ Board of Examiners | The holder is qualified for a statutory safety role |
For licensed work the order is fixed. Safe Work Australia explains that registered training organisations train and assess people for high risk work licences, a pass on the national assessment instrument earns a statement of attainment, and the person then applies to their state or territory regulator within 60 days. The licence lasts five years, and the holder must be over 18. Where a task needs a licence, no VOC can stand in for it. The VOC comes afterwards, when a client wants to see the licensed operator on its own equipment.
Queensland mining adds a term that trips people up. Resources Safety and Health Queensland runs certificates of competency for safety-critical statutory roles at mines, assessed by the Board of Examiners under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 and the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999, and holders working in statutory positions must also hold a current practising certificate. That is a pathway into statutory roles, not a plant VOC. People searching for VOC requirements in Queensland usually mean the plant operator kind, and for that we did not find a statewide format on the regulator pages we opened. The site's requirements decide it, so get them from the client in writing.
Who conducts a VOC?
There is no single licence or register for VOC assessors in the sources we checked. The NSW Resources Regulator frames it as a question the site must be able to answer: who assesses the worker, and what experience or qualifications do they have? Depending on the client, that might be an external trainer and assessor or an experienced person the site has authorised. Ask the client who it accepts before you book anyone, because a VOC from an assessor the site does not recognise can end up being done twice.
Licence assessments are far more tightly controlled. In Western Australia, WorkSafe WA requires accredited high risk work assessors to hold the Certificate IV in workplace assessment and training, a current licence in the class they assess, and at least a year of full-time experience in the last five years, or older experience with evidence of maintained competency. They must use the nationally approved assessment instrument and assess for a registered training organisation. A site VOC carries none of those guarantees unless the site builds them in.
What evidence a VOC produces
A useful VOC is measured against something. The Resources Regulator's guidance points to units of competency on training.gov.au as the benchmark, such as RIIMPO301E Conduct hydraulic excavator operations and RIIMPO304E Conduct wheel loader operations. It splits the evidence into kinds. Performance evidence comes from watching the work: prestart checks and shutdown, operating to suit site conditions, positioning for loading, parking and securing the machine, and inspecting the work area first. Knowledge evidence is a theory assessment covering things like site traffic rules, safe work method statements, emergency procedures and reading plans and maps. Assessment conditions set out the equipment, materials and PPE the assessment needs.
The same guidance says a record of training logbook can be used as evidence of a VOC. It describes supervision levels running from direct supervision for operators with little or no experience, through periodic and minimal supervision, to no supervision once the operator is deemed competent. A VOC is often the end point of supervised hours rather than a one-off test. For the office, the record you file should let anyone answer what a client auditor will ask:
- which worker, which task, and which make or model of plant
- the site or client it was done for, and the date
- who assessed it, and their qualifications
- the outcome, and any reassessment date the site sets
- the theory assessment and logbook, if the site asked for them
How to get a verification of competency for a worker
- Ask the client for its exact requirement: the task, the plant, the assessor it accepts and the form it wants.
- Check that any licence the task needs is current and shows the right class before paying for a VOC.
- Gather prior evidence such as statements of attainment, logbook hours and earlier VOCs, in case the site recognises prior learning.
- Book the assessment, on the site's own equipment where the client allows it.
- Check the completed record names the plant and the site, then file it against the worker with its date.
Labour hire adds a wrinkle, because your people arrive as contractors. The Resources Regulator lists several ways quarry operators handle VOCs for contractors. The contractor may supply work history including certificates or high risk work licences, or the contractor's business may supply its own assessment process. Contractors may go through the same VOC process as every other worker on site. A statutory declaration is also listed, marked by the regulator as not preferred. Ask which route your client uses, and if it relies on your own assessment process, make sure the paperwork would hold up in an audit.
How to check a licence or competency is genuine
Licences can be checked against public registers in some states. SafeWork NSW runs the SafeWork licence register and tells employers to check that a licence has not expired, includes the relevant classes and has the correct photo and name of the worker. In Western Australia, WorkSafe WA has an online licence search for licences and registrations issued by the WorkSafe Commissioner. VOCs are different. They are private records, so checking one means sighting the record itself and, if anything looks wrong, contacting the assessor or provider named on it. Our note on verifying certificates goes through what to look for.
How long a VOC stays current
We did not find a regulator page that sets a validity period for a VOC, so treat any figure you hear as a site rule. Sites set it, and a site may tie reassessment to a period of time or to events such as a new model of machine, a long stretch away from the task, or an incident. The Resources Regulator's guidance recommends refresher training so skills are not lost through lack of use. Whatever the client's rule is, record the reassessment date against the worker when you file the VOC, not when the gate turns them away.
Tracking VOCs per client site across a crew
One worker with one VOC is easy. The difficulty is a crew spread across several clients, where the same worker is accepted on a loader at one site and not at the next because each client wants its own VOC. At rostering time the question is never just whether someone has a VOC. It is whether they hold the one this client wants for this plant, and whether it is still current.
That check belongs in the roster, not at the gate. In Mustr, the competencies a booking needs can be set per client site, per role and per individual shift, so a site-specific VOC is required only where that client asks for it. Workers upload a certificate from their phone camera, it lands on a "to approve" list for the office to review, and each competency shows as verified, pending or expired. When a required competency is not current and verified, the booking is blocked with the reason shown. For keeping site-specific requirements apart from general ones, see inductions versus competencies.
Questions people ask
What is a VOC in construction?
It is a documented assessment showing a worker can safely do a particular task, such as operating a specific item of plant, on that job. The client or principal contractor usually asks for it before the worker starts. It sits on top of any licence the work needs.
Is a VOC the same as a licence?
No. State and territory regulators issue high risk work licences, and each one lets the holder do a particular class of licensed work. A VOC is a site or employer record that the person can do a task on particular equipment now. Where the work needs a licence, a VOC cannot replace it.
How long does a verification of competency last?
None of the regulator material we checked sets a period, so it depends on the site. A client may require reassessment after a set time, on new equipment or after time away from the task. Ask the client and record the reassessment date when you file the VOC.
Who can conduct a verification of competency?
Whoever the site or employer accepts, which may be an external trainer and assessor or an experienced person the site has authorised. The NSW Resources Regulator expects sites to know who assesses workers and what experience or qualifications they hold. Check with the client before booking an assessment.
What does a verification of competency look like?
There is no national form, so each site or provider uses its own template. A sound one names the worker, the task and plant, the site, the assessor and the date, and records the practical observation, any theory assessment and the outcome. Some sites also want logbook hours attached.
If the task needs a licence as well, our guide to high risk work licence classes and codes covers that side, and you can try Mustr with sample data to see site-specific requirements on a roster.